BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Track and field athlete and Youth Olympic gold medalist Grace Stark (White Lake, Michigan) was selected to lead Team USA into the Closing Ceremony as the flag bearer at the Summer Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018, as announced today by the United States Olympic Committee.

“I think it’s a really great honor to be chosen as the flag bearer,” Stark said. “I’m so thankful I was given this opportunity. To come out here and win a gold medal and represent our country is very exciting. I’ve always dreamed of carrying the flag, and I’m really excited to be able to do it tomorrow and represent my teammates.”

Team USA’s Ty Walker, a 2014 Olympian in snowboarding and the delegation’s Young Change-Maker at the Youth Olympic Games, led the flag bearer selection process in consultation with chef de mission Lynn Wentland.

“I am thrilled to congratulate Grace on this honor,” said Walker. “To earn this opportunity highlights not only the successful accumulation of her training, but also the positive impression she’s made on everyone at the Games. She has been a great ambassador for her sport and our athletes on the track, and she will continue to be a world-class representative of Team USA at the Closing Ceremony.”

Stark won a gold medal for Team USA in track and field in the women’s 100-meter hurdles. In a track and field format unique to the Youth Olympic Games, all athletes competed in two stages of competition and the results were combined to determine the medalists. Stark bested the competition in both stages, recorded a best time of 12.83 seconds and edged out the competition by a combined 26 hundredths of a second.

Following 12 days of competition, the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 will conclude with the Closing Ceremony on Oct. 18 inside the Youth Olympic Village. The third summer edition of the Youth Olympic Games featured 4,000 athletes from 206 nations and was the first Olympic event to have an equal number of male and female participants.